Trust
by beautifulgeek11
Summary: Love is giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting him not to. SasuIno.


**Dedication fanfic for everyone who joined my SasuIno community, and they were AkemiYumikov3, AkemixHanako,Angel-4-Kai, BloxandBunnox,Dreamedsong, Drunksonic, FairyTaleEndings, Golden Snowflake, HanayakaXy, Ino8Yama, InoxSasukeSOS, Kagura wind sorcress, Kurikara,Lamanth, LaurenMichelle125, STR0B3L1T3, Salvaje, SilentStar-009, Skye-Sama, Twisted Something, , WolfFlowerz, Yoruichi 'Ino', deathrosekitty,fruitpunch123451, genuineme11, gorypaldin2, hellahpretty08, ino4life, kibahina., mdv, of wonderlands and alices., pixieface Lust,shelvesinthecloset, snickerz71, spazzgirl, xInoBabe. You guys were really amazing. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!**

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**Trust**

**Summary:** Love is giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting him not to.

* * *

Trust. It was faith. It was reliance. It was conviction. It was assurance. It was dependence. It was devotion. It was belief. It was certainty. It was respect. It was care. It was hope. It was _love_.

_Sasuke-kun…_

"You know, crying won't make them happy," an 8 year-old Ino said as she smiled brightly at the crying Sasuke. "And even though they are gone, they never disappeared."

"Shut up," Sasuke looked up at the beautiful blond girl angrily. "You do not know anything… go away."

"I know you are still hurt because the massacre is just recent," she looked at the beautiful sky, what a nice day. "But I am pretty sure they don't want to see you being sad."

"I told you to shut up and leave, didn't I?"

"I'll shut up and leave in one condition," Ino looked at him seriously. "If you're gonna smile again."

He stood up, ready to leave but then stopped. "Stop annoying me, In—Yamanaka."

"What the heck?" she frowned. "Don't call me with my last name… it sounds… weird."

"You're irritating me."

"Real men don't cry," Ino stated. "And besides you don't look cute when you cry."

"Hn."

"Just don't forget that they never disappeared," she walked towards Sasuke and poked his chest, where his heart lied. "They are in there… they love you and they are still looking after you."

He stayed quiet. "They trust you, Sasuke-kun. And also… I _trust _you."

"See ya later, Sasuke-kun," she ran off. He watched her until she faded from his sight. With her words, he felt a lot better. However, he was still hurt because the person he trusted the most wiped off his own clan.

_I'll kill you, Itachi._

* * *

"What!" Ino stood up from her seat to protest. "Sakura will be on Sasuke's team? No fair, Iruka-sensei!"

She was mad, why in heck it had to be Sakura on Sasuke's team? Anyone but Sakura! Sakura, the friend she trusted the most, the person that used her. When Sakura became popular as Ino was, she declared to Ino that they were rivals over Sasuke's affection. If only Sakura knew, Ino had already won long time ago…

"Serves right to you," Sakura smirked at Ino. "Ino-pig!"

"Shut up, ugly forehead!" she was really angry, her classmates were staring at them. "Iruka-sensei… why?"

"Well, you see, you and Sasuke-kun can't be on the same team because both of you got the highest scores," Iruka explained. "In fact, you and Sasuke-kun are on the top. Sorry, Ino-chan."

"That's sad," Ino looked down, and then she looked at Sakura. "You are on his team because you got an average score."

_Ino-pig, Sasuke-kun will be mine, I won't lose to you._

* * *

"What the hell do you mean that he went away?" inquired Ino to the poignant Sakura. "I don't understand, what happened?"

"H-He went to O-Orochimaru," replied Sakura weakly. Ino didn't know how to react. Just why in hell? "H-He l-left."

"Why did he leave?"

"P-Power," Sakura looked at her, she could see the hurt in Ino's eyes. "He wants power."

"How could he…" the tears brooked on her cheeks. "…betray us like that?"

Sakura stayed quiet. Now, Sakura could understand the pain of unfaithfulness, betrayal. She didn't know that it would hurt like this. She wondered how bad Ino felt when she betrayed her during their childhood days for Sasuke. For sure, it hurt.

_I trusted him,_ Ino thought angrily. _Why did he have to go away…?_

She trusted him; she gave her love to him with her trust. She certainly cared so much about him. However, the remarkable boy she had always trusted did not trust anyone anymore after the person he trusted the most killed the Uchiha clan. And now, he betrayed them.

"S-Sakura," the tears were still streaming down on her face. "I'm hurt… I really am."

* * *

The years had passed, how long it had been? _Five years._ Five years of hoping that he would come back. She missed him… badly. Though, unlike Naruto, she never went to any of his retrieval missions. It was maybe because she wanted everyone to believe that she was over him… maybe because, she was _afraid_. She was afraid that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the amazing boy she once knew. She was afraid that everything about him had changed.

"Shika," she called her teammate, who was lying on the grass field. "Slacking off again, huh?"

"You're troublesome," the Nara opened his one eye to look at her, but then he closed his eye again once he looked at her. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you," was her reply. "Don't you have work today?"

"Nah," his voice was bored. "…Do you?"

"Nope," she inserted a smile. "Ibiki-sensei is being nice that's why he gave me an off."

He didn't respond. It had been awhile since they had a talk like this. He missed her, and she missed him as well. Team 10 had been busy with their own lives since they all became Jounin. Actually, not only team 10, but also everyone in Konoha 11.

"Where's Chouji anyway?" she asked, opening a new topic. "It's been weeks since the last time I saw him."

"Mission," he said. "Perhaps."

"Mission about what?" Ino arched an eyebrow. "You know, I kinda miss the days when we were hanging out together at the barbeque shop… but one of the people I miss the most is Asuma-sensei."

_And Sasuke-kun, of course._

"I don't know what's the mission is about…I do as well miss him," he opened his eyes completely then sat up and he looked at her sky-blue eyes. He could see the sadness clearly. "But we shouldn't. Asuma-sensei doesn't want us to miss him because he's always with us."

"Yeah," Ino agreed with sad smile. "But to be honest, even though I always tell myself that he's always with us, I still miss him really bad… I miss him so much, I bet you and Chouji feel the same way too. Physical and spiritual presence are different things."

"You're right," he hugged her. "You know, even if you're troublesome, I hate seeing you sad."

"I…Ino! Shi…Shikamaru!" a person from their behind called them loudly. Ino pulled out from the hug to see a breathless Kiba. "Chouji…hospital…hurt…badly…"

"What do you mean, Kiba?" Ino's eyes had widened, she and Shikamaru had a bad feeling about this. "I can't understand you… breathe, Kiba."

Kiba inhaled and exhaled an air. "Chouji is badly injured from our last mission."

"What?!" Shikamaru and Ino rushed into the hospital. Their hearts wanted to leap out from their chests. The nervousness they were feeling as of the moment was exceptional… in a bad way.

* * *

In front of them was the lifeless body of Chouji. Before they got in the hospital to see him, he was already dead. Shikamaru and Ino could not believe what they were seeing as of the moment. What happened on their mission… let alone, who did this? Who was the heartless bastard that did this?

_What the…?_

Ino went beside Chouji's bed and outburst with tears. This was so sudden, beside her was Shikamaru who was also crying and clenching his fists really hard. Why did this have to happen to the Team 10? At first, it was their beloved Asuma-sensei and now, Chouji? Who was next, was it her or Shikamaru?

"Chouji! Chouji! Chouji!" Ino cried louder as she shook the body of unresponsive Chouji. "Wake up! Please…"

"Ino!" Shikamaru embraced her but she was struggling badly. "Stop…"

"No!" she kept on trying to push Shikamaru away. "Shika, he is not dead! He is not dead! He is not... he can't die… he shouldn't die."

"Yamanaka!" Tsunade shouted. "Calm down! We can't change the fact, you know that! Have you forgotten the first rule of being a shinobi? The first rule states, a shinobi can't show emotions."

"Bullshit!" Ino replied to the fifth Hokage. "That's bullshit! Didn't you feel the same way too when Jiraiya-sama died? How can you not understand this feeling, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade's eyes had gone wide. Ino was right, she should have understood her out of anyone. Ino was hurting because her teammate died just like Tsunade was hurting when Jiraiya died.

"Ino!" Sakura's voice was heard. "You shouldn't talk to shishou like that! Remember your position in here! You are inferior to Hokage-sama. Stop acting like a little girl!"

Ino stared at Sakura and then spoke, "Sakura, what do you know? If you were I, and you were in this situation what the _fuck _are you going to feel and do? It's easy to say what you just said because this is not happening to you… you weren't the one who lost a teammate… a valuable friend... _forever_."

Ino gawked again at the motionless Akimichi and then walked off the room.

* * *

After Chouji's funeral, she learned what happened on their mission and what their mission was about. Learning about what kind of mission he had gone to... drove her mad. She wanted to kill Naruto and Sakura the most brutal way she knew. She was serious.

"Fuck! Open this fucking door!" Ino banged Naruto's door. "Open the fuck up!"

"Ino—ow!" Naruto fell on the ground, holding his bleeding nose. Her punch was quite hard. Naruto could see the fury in her eyes… and it was frightening.

"Because of you…" the tears streamed down on her face. "Chouji died. Because of you… team 10 is gone. You're cruel… you are selfish."

"I'm sorry, Ino," Naruto's eyes were fixed on the floor. "I didn't mean it."

"You wanted to fulfill your dream but you are putting others' life on the line as well," she was gloomy, so were her eyes. "You…you… _forced _Chouji to go on a mission to retrieve Sasuke again but you failed... and the most depressing part is… you weren't the one who got killed, it was Chouji. It was one of my _best_ friends."

"Ino…"

"And what I don't understand is, why don't you just let Sasuke go!" her voice was full of hurt in it. "That was his choice! He _clearly _does not want to go back anymore! But why are you and Sakura keep on forcing yourselves onto him…? I don't understand, he is happy with his new teammates… if he wanted to be here in Konoha then he had gone back a long time ago, but he didn't! And if you're gonna think about it, he has spent much more time with his new teammates than he had spent with you and Sakura! Please… let go of him, once and for all."

"I can't," he answered, he still couldn't look Ino in her eyes. "He _is _my teammate."

"He _was _your teammate," Ino corrected him bitterly. "I understand that you love him as if he is your brother, and don't get me wrong, I love him too, but then, I just woke up one morning and realized that I should just _trust_ him and his choice. Naruto, remember this, sometimes giving up doesn't mean you're a loser or you're weak, sometimes, it means you are strong enough to let go."

Naruto was speechless. Her words were too powerful enough to make him not reply. He knew that Ino was saying this for him to move on and she was saying this so he wouldn't go to missions of retrieving him anymore – and also, she didn't want him to put others' lives on the like like he just did.

"Please," Ino collapsed on her knees. "Don't try to retrieve him back anymore, like me; you should just trust him and his choice. I don't want anyone to get hurt anymore. I beg you, Naruto, let go of him."

Naruto gave her a small smile and walked towards her. He helped her stood up on her feet; he hugged her and whispered, "I'll try."

* * *

Sasuke was now secretly watching two blonde-haired people hugging each other. No one knew this but he went to Konoha once in awhile. And luckily, he was here in Konoha today. And it happened to be that he had heard everything the blonds had talked about. He was somewhat happy to know that there was one person who kept on trusting him all along even after he left Konoha. It was her, it was Ino, who always trusted and understood him.

"I won't let you down, Ino," he whispered. "Thank you."

With a 'poof' he disappeared to go back to his new teammates.

* * *

**Beautifulgeek11:** I am hoping that I fixed all grammatical errors there were. Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites. I really appreciate you guys.


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